School's Here/#4

The first week of school is officially over. The kids survived it. Jury's still out on whether Mom did. My oldest entered junior high. There is something completely sick and wrong about the entire concept of my baby boy trotting off to the land of teenagers and lockers. And about the fact that I'm anywhere near old enough to be the mother to such a kid. I mean, I remember being 12 so vividly (I was already ME then, for heaven's sake!). How could my own child be that old?!

Then there's my next two little (ish?) ones, who were so thrilled to get to school that all week they woke up before I did and even packed their own lunches. It won't be long before their enthusiasm dies down and I have to drag them out of their slumber-induced stupor each morning, but for now I'm enjoying that they're raring to go to school before I'm even out of bed.

On Monday my youngest begins preschool. At first she was wary of the idea, but her Dora backpack and a visit to the preschool itself changed her mind. (I think it was the big plastic McDonald's play set that really did the trick. Hmm. Will she be disappointed when there aren't any fries?)

As strange as it is to have the kidlets growing up, I'm looking forward to having some semblance of a routine again, something that was sorely lacking over the summer. I need a structure and a routine. Last summer I had a ridiculously strict schedule, so this time I tried to be more lax. The result is that over the last few months, the kids did fewer chores, read less, and spent far too much time in front of the television. Maybe next summer I can find a happy medium.

As for our Spires quote of the day, next time I swear I'll post an excerpt from someone besides Ben or Bethany, but I just had to do one more about them:

Even now she wondered if she could have handled the situation differently, but she still hadn't figure out how she could have mended it. It all happened so quickly, over the course of less than twenty-four hours—a one-two punch of elation and then despair.